


Curve Ball Field

by Annide



Series: Bad Things Happen Bingo [19]
Category: Limitless (TV)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Bad Things Happen Bingo, Gen, Kidnapping, Threats of Violence, Whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-26
Updated: 2020-07-26
Packaged: 2021-03-06 05:28:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,196
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25518064
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Annide/pseuds/Annide
Summary: When Brian gets kidnapped for ransom, the CJC isn't clear on how to handle the situation, or how to reassure his family.
Series: Bad Things Happen Bingo [19]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1667122
Kudos: 13





	Curve Ball Field

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Bad Things Happen Bingo: Bound and Gagged

**Hour One**

“Sorry, guys, I forgot something.”

Brian turned around to go back to his apartment just as they reached the car. Mike and Ike both sighed in exasperation. It could never be easy with him. There was always something. They decided to sit in the car and wait for him. They were right outside his place and they’d given him his pill already so he could familiarise himself with the case on the way, not much could go wrong. However, not much is still more than nothing at all, so, of course, something did go wrong.

Just as he was stepping back out onto the sidewalk, a man wearing a ski mask grabbed Brian and threw him in a van, getting in behind him as the driver pulled away before Mike and Ike had time to go after them. They thought about getting their guns out, but were too afraid to accidentally hit Brian. They tried pursuing them with the car, but the kidnappers managed to lose them in minutes. It was too late. Brian was gone, and they had failed to protect him.

It felt like nothing was more humiliating than making their way through the FBI offices, from security down in the lobby all the way up to the CJC floor, without Brian rambling the entire time. People seemed to stare at them. It would be hard not to notice there was something missing in that picture. And the looks they received when they exited the elevator and faced their colleagues at the CJC hurt almost as much as watching that van drive away. They had one job. One. Pick up the pill and consultant and bring them to the office. Simple. Yet here they were with neither.

Naz summoned them to her office, along with Rebecca and Boyle. Everyone looked concerned. Ike was starting to think he wasn’t made to be an agent. It was just failure after failure for him. And it kept getting worse. Falling asleep during a stakeout was one thing, but losing an important FBI asset was a major screw up.

“What happened? Where’s Finch?” Naz said.

“He went back inside to grab something and when he came back, he got kidnapped on the sidewalk, right in front of us,” Mike sounded just as ashamed as Ike felt. “We tried to stop it, follow the van, but we failed. These guys were organised, they knew what they were doing. Must’ve been stalking the place for a while.”

“But we gave Brian his NZT before we left, so he might be able to find a way out of this.” Ike was holding on to any piece of hope he could.

“Or that’s exactly what these people wanted and they’ll force him to use his abilities for their own purposes. Do you have any idea what ill-intentioned people could do with him? What if they take his blood and try to use it to reverse engineer NZT? Have you thought about that? What NZT could do in the wrong hands?” Naz’s voice got higher and higher as she talked, like her anger was gaining momentum. “And most importantly, Finch could get hurt. We have no idea what they’ll do to him. He could get killed. It was your job to make sure he stayed safe.”

“I know. You only gave us two rules,” Mike said. “One pill a day and don’t let him get hurt. Simple enough. And we failed. There’s no excuse for it. One of us should’ve gone up with him.”

“We will dedicate all our time to finding and rescuing him now. Unless you’re firing us, which we definitely deserve.” Ike felt awful about the whole thing. They’d been assigned to Brian for one reason and one reason only: to avoid a situation of the kind. They’d just proved themselves necessary, but not good enough.

“We’ll start by getting Finch back safe, then we’ll figure out how to handle things from there.” Naz sighed. “Harris and Boyle have point. Take all the resources you need.”

“Finch would be useful right about now.” Boyle said as he led the way out of the office.

**Hour Two**

Brian felt dizzy. His head was throbbing from the hit they’d given him to knock him out. He’d been passed out since they drove away from the loft, which was more than inconvenient. If he’d been conscious, he would’ve paid attention to the movements of the van, he could’ve mapped their trajectory, he could’ve figured out where he was now. But he had nothing to go on. Not even the tiniest hint at where he’d been brought, or what kind of place it was even. Was it an apartment, a house, a warehouse? There was no way to know.

A blindfold prevented him from inspecting his surroundings. He was also gagged, which stopped him from rambling nervously, or trying to get something out of those guys, just making them talk so they might let some information slip out. His hands were bound behind his back, on the other side of what felt like a pipe that he was leaning against. Maybe with some effort, he could manage to rip the duct tape by rubbing it against the pipe or pulling his wrists apart. He had little hope for success, but for now it was all he had. His ankles were also tied, likely with duct tape as well.

The ground he sat on was hard and uncomfortable. He was thinking concrete or something similar. His memories of wooden floors were enough to rule it out. He wiggled tentatively, just to see if he’d get a reaction. He could hear at least one person in the room, but wanted to have a better idea of how many were still around. Maybe get an idea of the size of the place by paying attention to how sound traveled in here, or if there was any echo.

He heard footsteps come in his direction. They stopped too close to him, standing with both feet on either side of his legs. The kidnapper squatted down so he’d be at the same level he was. Brian felt a knife brush down his cheek. He whined against the gag and instinctively tried to move away. These guys were serious. He didn’t know yet what they were after, or why they’d taken him, but the way this one acted made him afraid for his life. The NZT made it easier to rationalise things, and kept him from panicking. He was blindfolded, he couldn’t see their faces, had no way to identify them, which gave him hope to be released alive, eventually. If they intended to kill him, they wouldn’t bother taking so many precautions.

“Look who’s awake!”

Brian mumbled an answer against the gag, but he knew they wouldn’t understand him. He just couldn’t stop himself from trying.

“What was that? Oh, right, you can’t talk. That’s really too bad, I would love to hear you pleading for your life, or screaming, or something.”

“Andrew, stop it, he’s not a toy for you to play with.”

“What else am I supposed to do with the time? It’s not fun watching him just sit there.”

“Fine, but don’t hurt him too bad. We need him in one piece. And don’t make too much noise, I’m about to make the call.”

The careless name dropping worried Brian some, but not as much as the permission the second kidnapper gave to Andrew to have fun with him. If he had to guess, he’d say Andrew was the wildcard in this plan. He could easily go rogue and put the entire operation at risk. They were close enough that Brian could feel him practically buzzing with excitement. He heard the exclamation of joy he let out. That guy was here for the thrill and it was dangerous. On the one hand, it could lead to some reckless choices that could help the CJC catch them. But, on the other hand, it could result in a lot of pain and trouble for Brian.

The cold blade of the knife brushed down his cheek again, this time tapping it a bit, as if to taunt him. Andrew smelled of one of those very common shower gels. There was only the slightest hint of sweat on him, the kind he would get from being here and excited, maybe a little nervous. Nothing else lingered on his clothes, not even Brian’s smell. If he’d been there when they grabbed Brian, he either acted as getaway driver or he showered since.

A little farther, papers were being ruffled with. Likely the second man was revising the plans before making that previously mentioned phone call. He sounded nervous, from the little Brian could hear from him, it was clear he was in a completely different mental state than Andrew. More worried about the execution of the plan, for sure. It wouldn’t be a surprise if he turned out to have been the one who grabbed him. The one whose hands were shaking, the one who yelled to the driver to hurry, the one who hit him seemingly in a panic when Brian tried to get away.

“Hi, I would like to talk to Nasreen Pouran, please.” Brian had hoped he’d put the phone on speaker, but unfortunately he had to satisfy himself with hearing only this side of the conversation. “Oh, I know she’s busy. That’s actually what I’m calling about, so you might want to transfer me. And quick, I don’t have all day.”

A few minutes passed. Surely they were setting up to trace the call. Brian doubted it’d get them anywhere. This wasn’t an impulsive kidnapping, these guys were prepared. They had to be if their plan really was to bargain with the FBI.

“Agent Pouran, how nice to talk to you. I’m Chris.” He dropped his pleasant tone to adopt a more ominous and threatening one. “Now that you’ve had time to simmer a bit and worry about your precious little consultant, let me tell you what’s gonna happen. You have twelve hours to gather 10 million dollars in cash. You, or any of your agents, as long as there’s only one, will bring it to a location I will disclose to you later. Then, you get your boy back. Am I clear?”

There was silence while Naz answered, then Chris hung up without adding anything. Brian worried about what those guys were planning on doing with him if the FBI refused to cooperate. From the way Andrew was using his knife to play with Brian’s shirt buttons, killing him was probably on the table. After all, the FBI had a policy against paying ransoms. Asking them for it allowed them to ask for more money, but they would’ve been more likely to get anything at all from Brian’s parents.

“I’m going to take some air, keep an eye on our golden goose here.”

Chris walked away leaving Brian alone with the sadistic one, helplessly bound, gagged and blindfolded. He was on a drug that made him the smartest man alive and he had never felt more useless. He had no idea how he’d get himself out of this. And Andrew exuded enough happiness and excitement for him to notice. He broke Brian’s nose with a punch and they both struggled to breathe for a few minutes. Brian because his airway was filled with blood, the gag preventing him from breathing through his mouth; Andrew because he was laughing so hard.

**Hour Four**

There had been a lot of arguing in Naz’s crowded office after the phone call. First, they were divided on what to do, on how to handle the situation. Boyle and Mike said they needed to work the case, look at what they had, try to figure out who might’ve taken Brian in order to find them and rescue him. Rebecca and Ike wanted to pay the ransom. They made solid arguments, like how they couldn’t take the risk of Brian being killed and his body streaming with NZT in the hands of other police authorities who might discover the CJC’s secret. Naz agreed, but her hands were tied. It was against FBI policy to pay ransoms.

Once that argument was settled, they moved on to the next. Now that they’d received a phone call from a kidnapper, they couldn’t keep avoiding what they had to do. Someone had to go to the Finch house and tell Brian’s parents what was going on. And no one had any desire to brave that storm. Boyle immediately counted himself out of that one.

“There’s no reason I should be the one to go. They don’t even know me. They know Mike and Ike who are also the ones who were responsible for Brian’s safety. They could explain how they managed to lose him. The Finches also know Rebecca, you know, Brian’s handler.”

“Yes, and they remember that time I went to ask them questions about their son because we were looking for him for the murder of his friend. They hate me.”

“One more reason for you to go, they already hate you, can’t be worse.” Ike said.

“Don’t you think they need a sympathetic face, someone they can feel will be there for them and make sure everything ends well? That’s not me.”

“It is your job however to put the past behind them and show them they can trust you. You have a friendship with their son, you better than anyone else can share their pain and understand what they’re going through.” Naz said.

“Or, maybe the leader of this department, the one who approved this entire thing, who picked his bodyguards, whose job it is to supervise everyone, should tell them. Having someone as important as you deliver the news would certainly help convince them that we are taking this very seriously and won’t leave a stone unturned looking for Brian.”

Since the arguments in favour of Naz and Rebecca taking care of it had been so convincing, they settled on the both of them going. After all, it was always better not to be alone to execute a difficult task like this. So that was how Naz and Rebecca ended up driving to Westchester together. Now that they were here, they sat in the car in silence, dreading the moment they would have to get out of it and knock on that door across the street.

To say the Finches were not happy would be the understatement of the century. They were worried, scared, sad, all of that, of course. But most of all, they were furious. It started out as a calm conversation, with some tears and disbelief, the anger present enough to be perceivable, but not yet out in the open.

“How could you let this happen?” Marie said, Rachel quickly wrapping her arms around her. Rebecca could hear the lump in her throat, she could see the way her lips quivered and her eyes shone with their newfound wetness. “He’s my son. You promised you’d keep him safe.”

“We did everything we could.” Rebecca said, feeling like she was practically choking on her words, hoping no one else could hear how shaky her voice had become at the sight of their pain. “We gave him a safe house and bodyguards. These people were organised. We’ve looked at video footage of the street, that van’s been around before. They’d been waiting for an opportunity and they were prepared to act as soon as they got it. We were completely taken by surprise. Brian’s bodyguards tried the best they could, but the kidnappers were too fast.”

“So, what are you going to do now? What is your plan to get Brian back?” Dennis said.

“We’re not sure yet. We’re investigating various possibilities, we put an APB out on the van. I promise you, we are doing everything in our power to find him.”

“So you’ll pay that ransom if the time comes and he’s not back home yet?” Marie asked.

“It’s against FBI policy to pay ransoms, I’m sorry.” Naz said.

“But if you give these people what they want, they could let Brian go, alive. We would pay it ourselves if we could, but we don’t have that kind of money.” Tears were slowly streaming down Marie’s face now as she pleaded with them. “Please, I just want my son back safe.”

“I assure you, we will do everything in our power to bring him back to you in one piece. Brian is very important to us and we will not spare any resources to make sure nothing happens to him.”

“Something did happen to him though. He was taken and you are refusing to even try negotiating with the people who have him. Did you even ask for proof of life? Did you even call your boss to try and convince him to pay the ransom?”

Dennis wasn’t yelling. His voice was loud and firm and definitely angry, but he wasn’t yelling yet. Somehow, that fact made him seem scarier.

“My son does great work for you. I don’t know the details, but I do know it’s important and I know he does it at his own risk. Not only did you fail to protect him, you’re not going to do what’s needed to save him? How can you treat my son like a very useful, but disposable tool? He is a person. A person we love with all our hearts. You can’t abandon him like that.”

“We are not, Mr Finch. We will get your son back, one way or another, I promise.” Naz stared straight into his eyes as she said it. Rebecca wasn’t sure what she meant by that, but it didn’t matter as long as it was true, as long as it could lead to them finding the man who had quickly become her best friend and bringing him home alive and well.

**Hour 6**

The same way there was a part of your brain responsible for you feeling pain that you could shut off if you could find it, there was a part of your brain responsible for keeping you conscious. Brian had enough of this. At first, trying to figure out what was going on, trying to think of a plan, controlling his responses to what Andrew did and said, occupied him plenty. But Andrew had left to pick up supplies and Chris was eating a few feet away from him. Brian was bored and scared. It didn’t make sense for him to be both at the same time, but here he was.

He’d tried to rub his tied wrists against the pipe, but his position made it impossible not to be noticed. He was out of ideas for what to do. He’d run scenario after scenario and kept coming back to the same thing. His best chance at escaping would be when they brought him to the rendezvous point for the ransom exchange. So he was entirely dependent on the CJC either finding him in time or going through with paying the ransom. He could spend hours upon hours worrying about what would happen to him, or the fact the FBI had a policy against paying ransoms, but there was nothing he could actually do but wait.

Waiting for hours to pass while nothing was going on and you couldn’t do nor see anything might be the most painfully boring thing Brian had ever done. So he found the part of his brain he needed and put himself to sleep for a little while.

Water thrown at his face woke him up. It wasn’t a lot of it, maybe just a glass, but it was enough to bring him back to consciousness. The blindfold and the gag were soaked. The weight the water added made the blindfold slip down slightly, though his kidnappers caught it before he got to see anything and they fixed it. They didn’t, however, immediately notice how the gag, with some help from Brian, had gotten loose.

“Guys, come on, you can’t leave me tied up, gagged and blindfolded like that all day. What if I asphyxiate or something?”

“You won’t.” Chris said. “You can breathe through your nose, or through the fabric, you’ll be fine.”

“Not if I start to panic.”

“Then don’t.”

Brian heard Andrew chuckle. He was closest to him and still, he walked toward him. He knew the sound of their steps well now. He might not be able to see anything, but his hearing was clearer than ever. He also noticed the similarity in their intonation, the familiarity in the way they addressed each other. Things he never would’ve pieced together if he wasn’t on NZT, but now it seemed obvious to him that they were siblings.

“Please don’t put the gag back on. It’s uncomfortable, it pulls at my jaw and it hurts. I can help you. You know I can or you wouldn’t be holding me for ransom from the FBI.”

“Oh, we know how valuable you are to them. And you’re already doing everything we need you to do. We don’t need anything else from you. We can handle this ourselves.”

“Just out of curiosity though,” Andrew’s voice was close, too close, he must’ve squatted down next to him, “what is it that you do for them? How does a loser like you who was going nowhere in his life end up being a FBI consultant with his own safe house and bodyguards? What makes you so special?”

They didn’t know about the NZT. They had obviously done their research, found out everything they could about him, but the CJC’s best kept secret had remained safe. It was good news. Excellent news even. Because it meant they didn’t have a security problem that would require him to read through every single agent file, again. It meant all the precautions they put in place to prevent anyone from learning about NZT were working. These guys had simply learned what other agencies and departments had. That Brian had a specific and very useful set of skills that made him a great asset.

“None of your business.”

“Oh, come on, tell us.”

“If you couldn’t figure it out yourselves, I’m not going to do it for you, your friend just said you didn’t need anything from me.”

“It doesn’t matter anyway, Andrew. Whatever he does, all I care about is the fact it makes him valuable to the FBI and they’ll want to get him back.”

Chris put the gag back on. Brian knew it was him because of the way he did it without a fuss. Andrew would’ve taunted him a bit, he might even have tried to do it with the knife somehow. He loved that knife, and he particularly loved when that knife made contact with Brian. There would be a few scars on his skin to attest to that for years to come. If he got to live them.

**Hour 9**

“So, you’re telling me you want to use my son as bait?”

“Using him as bait would be if we put him in a dangerous situation. That’s not what we’re doing. He already is in a dangerous situation. And this is how we’ll get him out of it.” Rebecca said.

They’d spent hours coming up with what they thought was the best possible plan. They’d figured out all the details of the operation before coming to the Finch house to update Brian’s family. Time was running out and they still weren’t any closer to a location.

“He’s in this situation because you couldn’t do your job and protect him!” Mr Finch’s voice rose. He was angry and exasperated. He worried a lot about Brian. He always had. He was his son. His son who hadn’t had it easy. His son who’d given him more reasons to worry about than either of his three other children. Several hours had gone by and all he wanted to hear was news that his son was now safe.

“Mr Finch, this is our best chance at getting Brian back safely. We tell them we are paying the ransom and they will bring him to the rendezvous point.”

“What if they don’t bring him?”

“We’ll still bring them into custody and make them tell us where they’re holding him. We don’t have any other choice. They didn’t leave any hints behind to help us figure out where they might have brought him. But when they call us to tell us where to bring the ransom, we’ll know where they’re going.”

“I don’t like this. There are too many ways it could go wrong.”

“I know, believe me I know. Brian is my friend, my best friend even. I want him back as much as you do. And this is our best shot.”

Rebecca hated the way her voice threatened to break with every word. She never wanted to care this much about him. She never thought she’d get so attached, that they’d develop such a close friendship. Somewhere inside she had this desire to just pay the ransom, anything if it meant getting him back. But the FBI rules were clear. They could, however, use the ransom exchange to lure in the kidnappers in order to catch them. After all, every piece of information about Brian and NZT was classified, finding out everything these people knew was crucial, it was a matter of national security. And that gave them some leeway in what they were allowed to do. Like agree to a meeting place to pay the ransom. Funds were being delivered to the CJC this very instant.

“Fine. But you have to promise to update me every step of the way. I want to know everything.”

“I promise.”

Rebecca gave him a reassuring smile. She tried to convey through her expression just how sincere she was. He nodded back at her. The afternoon may not be over yet, but it had already been a long exhausting day. They both held on to as much hope as they could muster. If only this whole thing could be over already. They couldn’t wait to hear Brian’s annoying rambling again. And those craft projects, oh how they missed them right about now.

**Hour 12**

The NZT was wearing off. He could feel it. Which meant it had been twelve hours since he’d been taken. Twelve hours and there was still no sign of the FBI coming to rescue him. Twelve hours and he hadn’t managed to escape or thought of any plan at all to save his life. As the last shred of the pill’s effects left him, Brian was losing hope. More and more, the thought that he might very well die sunk into his mind, and he couldn’t get rid of it. His chance to find a solution has passed and now that he was going back to his normal self, it was too late. After all, Andrew was right, Brian was a loser before all this, he could never help anyone, let alone himself.

Chris came behind him and cut the restraints on his wrists. Immediately, Brian brought them in front of him so he could rub them in his hands. His shoulders felt sore from the position he'd been in all day. Relief was short lived, however, as Chris pulled him up to his feet and duct taped his wrists together again, though in front of him this time.

They were moving. Hope started coming back to him. It was small and fleeting, but it was there. If they were going somewhere, it had to be the rendezvous point for the ransom exchange. Even Brian knew that moving him to another location was risky and they wouldn't do it just to get rid of him. It had to mean that the FBI had agreed to pay the ransom.

There was no reason to flatter himself though. They weren't bending the rules for him. They weren't making all that effort to rescue him because they cared about him or thought he was so important. It was all because of the NZT. His body, still with traces of the pill in it, was classified information. Leaving him out there, at the mercy of kidnappers, or anyone who might find his corpse, was a threat to their secret. As much as he wanted to be friends with Rebecca, Mike, Ike, even Boyle and Naz, he didn't think they felt that way. Rebecca was probably just being nice to him, because she needed him, that's all, nothing more. But he did enjoy the illusion of friendship.

Brian was dragged out to a van. He tripped again and again as he tried to keep up with Chris's walking rhythm despite his ankles still being tied together. Every time he fell, he was pulled up more aggressively. He thought it was a bit unfair, the way Chris seemed mad at him when he could just as easily cut the duct tape off his legs, or walk at a slower pace, or maybe remove the blindfold so he'd see where he stepped.

This whole time, Brian wondered where Andrew was. He stopped when they reached the van and he felt himself be thrown like a ragdoll into it. That's where he'd been, waiting for them outside, getting everything ready.

"You know what, Brian? I'll miss you. We had a lot of fun today, didn't we?"

Brian disagreed, but he knew Andrew was expecting him to.

"You could at least nod or shake your head or something. We're having a conversation here, buddy."

Chris told him to shut up, closed the doors of the van and they started moving not long after. Brian tried to remember the turns they took or anything about the ride, but, without NZT, it quickly became too confusing. Besides, it was hard to concentrate on anything while lying down in a van, bound and gagged, next to Andrew and his knife.

“Now, Brian, when I transport you, you better not move, otherwise,” Andrew pressed the blade against his throat, “this knife will do a lot more damage than a few shallow cuts, you understand?”

Brian thought it safer to nod and go along with whatever the plan was. He felt himself being rolled and some fabric suddenly surrounded him. It took him hearing the sound of a zipper to understand Andrew had put him in a bag. Probably an inconspicuous way of carrying him. It did still seem light out when they stepped outside earlier. Wherever he was held must’ve had some place to park out of eyesight, like an alley or something.

They finally stopped. Brian felt himself pulled up over Andrew’s shoulder and he wondered how big and strong he was to be able to pick him up like this. He heard the van drive away, Chris was apparently going to wait for the FBI elsewhere. Just to be safe, they didn’t want Brian at the meet up. They thought it would give them a bargaining chip in case anything went wrong. And it also meant that if, like Brian presumed, the CJC decided to show up early to wait for the kidnappers and catch them, then they wouldn’t get the both of them. They would have to go through with the ransom exchange in order to get him back.

They’d arrived early, so the chances of anyone seeing Chris dropping them off would be lower. When they’d reached their waiting spot, Andrew let the bag fall to the ground. If Brian hadn’t been gagged, he would’ve let out a loud groan of pain, but fortunately, the piece of fabric in his mouth muffled the sound. Andrew unzipped the bag and flipped it over, making Brian fall off of it. If he survived the night, he would certainly feel very sore in the morning. His back and shoulders were already killing him.

“Ah, fresh air! Feels nice, doesn’t it? And the sun is starting to set, you should see it, it looks beautiful.”

Brian wished he could see it. He wished he was anywhere but here, with anyone but Andrew. He hoped more than anything that this would all be over soon and that he’d get to go home and spend time with his parents, his siblings, his friends. Maybe he should invite them all to his loft for game night after this was all over. That was, if things went right and he didn’t end up dead. But, for now, he was doing his best to be optimistic.

**21:00**

The sun was setting when they got to Central Park, it was already pretty dark. Chris had picked Belvedere Castle as the rendezvous point for the exchange. They knew from Mike and Ike that there were at least two kidnappers, one grabbed Brian while the other drove, but Chris had been the one to call both times. They were still wary of the possibility of a second person being there. They spread out in the surroundings, dressed casual as to blend in with other people who were simply there to admire the view of the sunset from up here, with its reflection in the lake separating them from the baseball fields. It was a beautiful sight under different circumstances.

Naz spotted a man leaning against the side of the pavilion, a flashlight pointed toward the great lawn, just how Chris said he would be. When he noticed her, he tapped the beam to make it flicker and turned around, carefully keeping the flashlight pointed the same way. She figured it wasn’t only a way for her to recognise him, but also how he communicated with whoever was with Brian at the moment. She looked around, hoping to see any sign of where they might be, any hint that could help them find Brian and bring him back safely, but she saw nothing. She walked closer to Chris, hoping Rebecca would have some luck as she searched inside.

“Where’s Brian?”

“Don’t worry about him, he won’t get hurt too much. As long as you don’t try anything, of course.”

To be safe, and because there was a lot riding on the success of this operation, Naz had him give him proof of life. He called his accomplice, wherever he was, and she heard Brian say he was okay then cry out in pain. Chris said his friend enjoyed hurting Brian quite a bit and apologised for it, not that she would believe there was any sincerity to it.

As soon as he’d hung up and they were now sure Brian was alive somewhere, Naz gave the signal and the others moved in to arrest Chris who dropped the flashlight. They searched him, they searched the entire area surrounding Belvedere Castle, but they found nothing. They used his phone to call back his accomplice, but no one answered. He must’ve seen the flashlight fall. They brought Chris back to the CJC and spent hours interrogating him, but he wouldn’t say anything about who worked with him or where Brian was. He shared their plan, talked about where they held Brian all day, obviously confident enough that his accomplice was in the wind by now and wouldn’t go back there.

“I don’t know where Brian is. I wasn’t with him, I was up there with you.”

“But you must know where your partner was waiting with him. What he might’ve done with him after we caught you.”

“He might’ve taken him away with him, or left him there, or killed him. Only time will tell.”

No matter what they tried, no matter what deal they offered, Chris refused to say anything else. He wouldn’t tell them where Brian was, or who he worked with. There was no way to convince him to give up his accomplice. They understood why when Rebecca came back with all the information she could find about him. He had a younger brother who he’d been caught stealing cars with a few years back. They put an APB out on Andrew, but got no results.

All they had left to do was wait, search and keep trying to get more out of Chris. They all hoped when Chris said that time would tell what happened to Brian, it meant he would be found soon enough. Hopefully wherever Andrew had him during the arrest, it was somewhere Brian would be relatively safe to spend at least the night. Naz still had to call the Finches to give them an update, she had never dreaded doing something more before. One thing was sure, none of them would be sleeping tonight.

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Brian was cold. So cold. He presumed they’d brought him to the rendezvous point for the ransom exchange. But clearly things hadn’t gone well. Andrew had stayed with him a while. Either Chris didn’t trust him to handle such an important task as taking the money from whatever FBI agent Naz would pick, or he wanted to protect him and make sure he wouldn’t get caught if things went south. They’d waited a while, Brian feeling fresh air on his face, then Andrew cried out “shit!” and ran away. Fear was building inside him as time seemed to stretch and he still hadn’t been found. Brian was still bound, gagged and blindfolded. He had no idea where he was, only that it felt a lot like outside. Maybe he could figure out more if the NZT hadn’t worn off an unknown amount of time ago.

What if the FBI never found him? What if they did, but it took too long and he died out here? No. He had to stop thinking like that. All it did was make him panic and he couldn’t breathe if he was panicking. The CJC was great. They were smart and they would figure it out. They would find him. But he had to stay alive until then. Which meant slow, deep breaths.

...

...

...

He woke up in a panic, struggling to catch his breath, the gag only making it harder. He had a nightmare. The kind where wild animals found him nicely restrained, an easy prey for them to feed off of. He could still feel them pulling on his skin, tearing him apart, fighting over the best, most delicious parts of his body. He didn’t know how or when he’d fallen asleep. He’d tried to keep himself awake as long as he could, afraid hypothermia would take him over and he’d never wake up. But there were only so many ‘screw, marry, kill’ combinations you could go through before it became redundant and boring. He’d tried singing his favourite songs in his head, but evidently, that hadn’t worked either.

He assumed he’d be able to see sunlight through his blindfold if he’d made it through the night, but there was nothing but darkness. He hoped, if anything, that scarring nightmare could at least help keep him awake this time. He was terrified. He didn’t know how much time had passed, but certainly it couldn’t be good that he hadn’t been found yet. Where was the CJC? Had they given up? Had they decided he wasn’t worth the trouble after all? They should’ve been here by now. Unless the plan had never been to actually exchange him and just leave him some place so he could die of exposition. He wouldn’t put it past Andrew to come up with an idea like that. Maybe he didn’t even tell Chris about it. Maybe that’s why he’d run away.

Tears streamed down his face. He could feel the gag getting wet on his cheeks. He was scared and alone, and oh so cold. Why was it so cold? It was summer in New York, it shouldn’t be this cold. He wanted to be back home, sitting at his parents’ dining room table, surrounded by the entire family, eating a delicious meal prepared by his mother. He wanted to hug every single one of them and tell them how much he loved them. And he had no idea whether he’d be able to do that again.

Somehow, sleep sounded like a great idea now. The comfort of unconsciousness, even if temporary, even if not, would feel amazing right this moment.

...

...

...

“Mister?”

Small, hesitant hands brushed against his temple. He felt the blindfold being pulled away.

“Hey, mister, are you okay?”

Brian groaned. He squinted as his eyes got used the sudden brightness of the sun. Morning had finally come and he was surrounded by a group of young kids wearing baseball uniforms. One of them nervously held the blindfold in their hand. Brian was lying down on the side of a baseball field. He sat up as best he could. He tried to talk but realised he was still gagged.

“Oh, sorry.”

The same kid stepped forward again and pulled down the gag, letting it fall in his neck, and immediately went back to the group. They were a courageous little one. Braving the terrifying ordeal of interacting with a stranger, an adult stranger, something their parents had no doubt warned them against endlessly, just to make sure he was alright. Not that any of those kids were in much danger with Brian still bound at the wrists and ankles. Except maybe the danger of being mentally scarred for the rest of their life. How traumatising was finding a man bound, gagged and blindfolded on the ground under the player’s bench when you showed up for your Little League practice in the morning?

“I’m fine, I just... Where am I?”

“Central Park.” The kid’s voice was shaky, but it was perfectly understandable.

“Sorry, I scared you. Where’s your coach?”

“He went to call the police. Told us not to move.”

“Bet you weren’t supposed to talk to me either.”

The kid looked down, so did several others. Brian recognised that look from his nephew. It was the classic ‘I got caught doing something I shouldn’t’ look. He was sure he still sported it from time to time himself.

“It’s okay, I’m glad you helped me. I feel much better now.”

The coach came back and sent the kids away on the field to practice. He stayed with Brian until the FBI showed up. Apparently, the description he gave to the 911 operator was enough for them to match it to Brian’s and the CJC was informed immediately. A sea of arms wrapped themselves around him. Brian could barely tell who they belonged to. Boyle was the one who finally thought to cut his restraint after he hugged him.

The best moment, the one that would remain stored in his memory forever, the one he would cherish for years to come, happened later. Once they were back at the CJC. He sat in Naz’s office, waiting, when he saw his family walk off the elevator and practically run to him, teary-eyed as they pulled him in a big hug, all at the same time. Brian closed his eyes, a smile printed on his face. He was home, he was safe and loved. And he had everything he needed.


End file.
